Alford officially accepts UCLA challenge

April 2, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

1 of 16

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, left, and new men's basketball head coach Steve Alford pose for the media with the basketball jersey, which Guerrero gave to Alford at the start of Tuesday's press conference introducing Alford as the new coach. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

New head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team Steve Alford, center, meets former Bruins players Mitchell Butler, left, and Gerald Madkins, right, during Tuesday's press conference introducing him as the new coach. "I want you guys to be here, you're the guys who built this program" Alford said as he told former Bruins players he would look to them for counsel as coach. Behind Alford is athletic staff member Marc Dellins. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, left, welcomes new men's basketball head coach Steve Alford at the start of Tuesday's press conference introducing Alford as the new coach. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

Steve Alford is introduced as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion on the school's campus in Westwood on Tuesday. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

Shaquille O' Neal, right was on hand for Tuesday's press conference announcing Steve Alford as the new men's basketball head coach. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

Steve Alford waits for a television crew to interview him during Tuesday's press conference introducing him as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

Members of the UCLA basketball team watch Tuesday's press conference introducing Steve Alford as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

UCLA basketball player Kyle Anderson watches Tuesday's press conference introducing Steve Alford as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

UCLA basketball player Jordan Adams was using a cart to get around with his broken foot at Tuesday's press conference introducing Steve Alford as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

Steve Alford speaks at Tuesday's press conference introducing him as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion on the school's campus in Westwood. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

New head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team Steve Alford, right, meets former Bruins player Marques Johnson during Tuesday's press conference introducing him as the new coach. "I want you guys to be here, you're the guys who built this program" Alford said as he told former Bruins players he would look to them for counsel as coach. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

Former UCLA Bruins players Michael Warren, right, and Gerald Madkins watch Tuesday's press conference introducing Steve Alford as the new coach of the men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

Steve Alford speaks at Tuesday's press conference introducing him as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion on the school's campus in Westwood. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

UCLA Executive Vice President and Provost Scott Waugh kicks off Tuesday's press conference introducing Steve Alford as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion on the school's campus in Westwood. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

1 of 16

Steve Alford speaks at Tuesday's press conference introducing him as the new head coach of the UCLA men's basketball team at Pauley Pavillion on the school's campus in Westwood. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero, left, and new men's basketball head coach Steve Alford pose for the media with the basketball jersey, which Guerrero gave to Alford at the start of Tuesday's press conference introducing Alford as the new coach.ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE REGISTER

LOS ANGELES – UCLA's newest basketball coach, the 13th man tasked with leading the storied program once helmed by John Wooden, took the podium on Wooden's Westwood court on Tuesday well-prepared for the inevitable questions and comparisons linking him and the Bruins' legendary coach.

Steve Alford stood in front of a sea of reporters at his first press conference, his slight Southern Indiana twang noticeable and charming in his welcome speech and his Midwestern values serving as a novel backdrop to the start of what athletic director Dan Guerrero called "a new chapter."

Alford connected himself and Wooden organically into his first impression as coach. He told a story of when he was a child – how he had to argue with administrators to drop him off at a gym that just so happened to be where Wooden played as a young adult. He had grown up in Indiana enamored with the UCLA coach and the sport – "In Indiana, you learn basketball before you learn to count," Alford said.

The spotlight has been on Alford on the basketball court since high school, when he played in front of weekend crowds of sometimes 20,000 people at New Castle High in Southern Indiana. He was Mr. Basketball in the state, recruited to Indiana under Coach Bob Knight, and won a national championship with the Hoosiers in 1987 – an achievement that has made him a hero in the state to this day.

But in California, with the bright lights of Hollywood focused on him, Alford inherited a new challenge on Tuesday – one in which he's well aware of the expectations and doubt that lie ahead.

"When I was hired at New Mexico," Alford said, "people were asking me then, 'How are you going to recruit in the Southwest, you've never lived here. You've never been here. You know nothing about the Southwest.' Things worked out pretty good. It's a challenge. I hope I understand that challenge. And I hope up I can put my best foot forward and make things happen."

Alford will certainly have to put plenty of changes into motion in the first few months of his tenure – most notable of which will be repairing the recruiting ties to high schools in Southern California. And with mixed reviews in his hiring suggesting that the rural Indiana legend will have an uphill climb in proving himself to his Hollywood fan base, his process will likely start as an arduous one.

The brighter lights have already brought lingering questions about Alford to the forefront. In his second question from the media, Alford was asked about a 2003 incident in which he fervently defended Iowa player Pierre Pierce after Pierce was arrested for sexually assaulting a female student – a question that was met with a hurried response from UCLA's new coach.

"Well, that was an instance that happened years ago at the University of Iowa," Alford said, "and all I can tell you with that situation is I followed everything that the University of Iowa administration and the lawyers that were hired, I did everything I was supposed to do at the University of Iowa in that situation. I followed everything that I was told to do."

Alford admitted that the pressure of being UCLA's coach would likely take some time to fully sink in. He had played at the highest levels, he said – in the Olympics with Michael Jordan, at Indiana on a national championship team, in the NBA – but the luster of UCLA and John Wooden triggered an undeniable boyishness in Alford on Tuesday, even in spite of unresolved questions that remained unanswered.

Luckily for Alford, he'll have a fully-stocked cupboard waiting for him, as his first Bruins team may only lose young center Tony Parker to a transfer, though recent reports suggest that Parker will meet with Alford and discuss his future soon. Both Norman Powell and Jordan Adams reaffirmed their future with UCLA under Alford on Tuesday, while Kyle Anderson Sr. told the Register last week that his son will return next season.

"I'm really excited to see what type of way he wants to run this program," Powell said.

And with the keys to the program in Alford's hands, Guerrero remains confident that his new coach – Southern Indiana twang and all – will be the perfect fit atop Southern California's most high-profile college basketball program.

"Steve isn't afraid of a challenge," Guerrero said. "This job isn't just for anyone. There's a lot of coaches out there that might want to be the head coach at UCLA, but not want to do the head coach at UCLA. There's a big difference. Once the press conference is over and once all that stuff ends, now you have to make it happen. You need a coach that has the intestinal fortitude to take on a job like this and be willing to accept the challenge of building this thing."

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.